The present invention relates to closures in general for containers. In particular, the invention is concerned with a closure adapted for use with containers associated with the soft drink and diary industry.
There has been a need in the art to provide a closure that can be readily attached to a container such as a paper or plastic cup, yet permit pouring of the contents of the container without the necessity of removing the closure from the container.
The prior art recognizes several container closures with apertures located therein which aid in the dispensing of fluids or granular material from the container to which the closure is attached. One example of a lid with a hinged valve therein is U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,135 issued Sept. 12, 1978. In this particular patent, the valve is actuated by applying an inward force toward the outer or free end of the cantilevered valve. While this particular design is adequate for drinking from a container through the provided aperture, the arrangement does not work well as a finger actuated pour spout because the liquid contents will invariably come into contact with the finger as the valve is moved to the open position.
Then too, there is the prior art container and lid combination shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,176,898 which depicts an elongate tab which can be pushed by the finger to an open position, thus permitting the contents of the container to be poured. This particular tab arrangement would appear to serve as an arrangement for providing an opening in the top of a can or container, however, it would not appear to possess the resiliency or structure to permit the tab to return to a closed position.